David Malukas in the #12 Team Penske Chevrolet during the IndyCar test at Phoenix. Image: Joe Skibinski
After completing 68 laps, Malukas led teammate Josef Newgarden by just 0.0708s.
In third sat Will Power, who was replaced by Malukas following the 2025 season. The Australian wound up 0.1092s off the pace with 89 laps to his name.
Power’s Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood was fourth while four-time champion Alex Palou completed the top five for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Malukas said he was happy to end up on top during a day that was spent getting up to speed with his team team
“I think it’s hard for test days, because you know, you’re running through your own plans – but I mean, of course, it feels good,” said Malukas.
“We know that we have pace. The car is good, and we’ve kicked off our oval set with the team on a strong suit.
“So I feel confident, but is it what we were aiming for today? No, we just ran through our test plan, and we managed to get a time up on the board.
“Does it feel good? Yeah, I would say it feels good.
“I’m feeling great. This is the best I’ve felt in a very long time. The chemistry I have with the guys, the team, I’m just so happy,” he added.
“I get to race this beautiful car. It’s fantastic. It’s a dream for me. So every time I come in and out of the pits, I’m smiling. I got a big smile on my face, and I think on top of that, it adds to the performance.
“You see that with all the other guys. You know, everybody is on it. They have their own missions to make sure that, as a team, we can get good results. Just being in that environment, it’s perfect.”
New Zealand’s interests were led by Marcus Armstrong, who was sixth for Meyer Shank Racing.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin was not far behind in eighth while six-time champion Scott Dixon ended up ninth for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Of the rookies, Dennis Hauger was quickest for Dale Coyne Racing in 17th. Mick Schumacher was 23rd and one second off the pace of Malukas.
Caio Collet was only 25th after he crashed his AJ Foyt Racing-prepared car.
Testing will continue on Thursday at the one-mile-long Phoenix oval.
Results: IndyCar Series Unser Open Test, Phoenix Raceway
Pos
Num
Driver
Team
Engine
Laps
Speed (mph)
Lap
Diff
Gap
1
12
David Malukas
Team Penske
Chevy
68
172.605
20.8569
20.8569
2
2
Josef Newgarden
Team Penske
Chevy
82
172.021
20.9277
0.0708
0.0708
3
26
Will Power
Andretti Global
Honda
89
171.706
20.9661
0.1092
0.0384
4
27
Kyle Kirkwood
Andretti Global
Honda
68
171.423
21.0007
0.1438
0.0346
5
10
Alex Palou
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
55
171.357
21.0088
0.1519
0.0081
6
66
Marcus Armstrong
Meyer Shank Racing
Honda
56
170.919
21.0626
0.2057
0.0538
7
60
Felix Rosenqvist
Meyer Shank Racing
Honda
98
170.489
21.1157
0.2588
0.0531
8
3
Scott McLaughlin
Team Penske
Chevy
77
170.433
21.1227
0.2658
0.007
9
9
Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
67
170.181
21.1539
0.297
0.0312
10
20
Alexander Rossi
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevy
118
169.911
21.1876
0.3307
0.0337
11
15
Graham Rahal
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
78
169.88
21.1914
0.3345
0.0038
12
28
Marcus Ericsson
Andretti Global
Honda
83
169.845
21.1958
0.3389
0.0044
13
76
Rinus VeeKay
Juncos Racing
Chevy
108
169.742
21.2086
0.3517
0.0128
14
21
Christian Rasmussen
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevy
128
169.507
21.238
0.3811
0.0294
15
45
Louis Foster
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
93
169.452
21.2449
0.388
0.0069
16
5
Pato O’Ward
Arrow McLaren
Chevy
98
169.405
21.2509
0.394
0.006
17
19
Dennis Hauger
Dale Coyne Racing
Honda
55
169.259
21.2692
0.4123
0.0183
18
6
Nolan Siegel
Arrow McLaren
Chevy
104
168.955
21.3074
0.4505
0.0565
19
77
Sting Ray Robb
Juncos Racing
Chevy
106
168.579
21.355
0.4981
0.0476
20
7
Christian Lundgaard
Arrow McLaren
Chevy
78
167.983
21.4307
0.5738
0.0219
21
8
Kyffin Simpson
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
97
167.454
21.4985
0.6416
0.0678
22
14
Santino Ferrucci
AJ Foyt Racing
Chevy
43
165.217
21.7895
0.8568
0.0023
23
47
Mick Schumacher
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
109
164.006
21.9504
1.0935
0.0538
24
18
Romain Grosjean
AJ Foyt Racing
Honda
40
163.228
22.055
1.1981
0.1046
25
4
Caio Collet
AJ Foyt Racing
Chevy
51
162.474
22.1574
1.2297
0.0191
